WNBA's 'Line 'Em Up' makes space for women, girls on public courts
WNBA launches "Line It Up" campaign
The WNBA on Thursday unveiled a new nationwide initiative at Brooklyn Bridge Park aimed at bringing women’s professional basketball closer to local communities by painting official 3-point lines on public courts. FOX 5 NY's Jennifer Williams has the story.
BROOKLYN - The park has always been at the heart of basketball. The ultimate proving ground where anyone can step up and make a name for themselves.
Well, almost anyone. For too long, public courts have been dominated by men, leaving women and girls to fight for every inch of space.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 02: A basketball player soars through the air toward the hoop trying to score during a pick-up game on an outside court on Pier 2 in Brooklyn Bridge Park in front of the Manhattan Skyline with One World Trade Center (1 WTC) on A
While some broke through, too many were left on the sidelines: the WNBA says that ends now.
This week at Brooklyn Bridge Park, the league launched its new Line 'Em Up initiative, a national campaign to bring visibility, equity and inspiration to girls and women in the game by painting the official fire orange WNBA three-point line on public courts across the country.
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"This line is about more than paint," said Bethany Donaphin, the WNBA’s head of league operations. "The line is about presence, it is about representation. It is about knowing that you have a piece of this incredible game and all of the opportunities that it can afford you."
The league will also make donations to participating parks.
Basketball: View of empty basketball court at Carey Gardens in Coney Island. COVID-19. Brooklyn, NY 4/8/2020 CREDIT: Erick W. Rasco (Photo by Erick W. Rasco /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X163236 TK2 )
Organizers say the initiative is about giving girls a permanent place in the basketball landscape and a visual reminder that they belong.
"We are celebrating the presence of girls and women in basketball," Donaphin said. "It is about believing in yourself and being part of community."
BRISTOL, CT - NOVEMBER 11: Bethany Donaphin of the WNBA smiles during the 2023 WNBA Draft Lottery on November 11, 2022 at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photog
At Thursday’s launch, student-athletes from across New York City gathered for the unveiling.
"There are a lot of people who act like women’s basketball is not really anything," said Diziha Ramirez, a 10th grade point guard at Cardinal Spellman High School. "But women’s basketball means a lot. It changes people’s way of life."
BROOKLYN, NY - FEBRUARY 6: Teresa Weatherspoon, Bethany Donaphin, Natasha Cloud and Taj McWilliams-Franklin participate during the 2019 National Girls and Women in Sports Day on February 6, 2019 in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly ack
For players like Brianna Taveras of Monroe-Woodbury High School, seeing the WNBA line at a local court makes the dream feel closer.
"It just makes you feel like your dream is a step closer," Taveras said. "Like it is not something that is so impossible. You just have to work for it."
The Brooklyn event also featured an appearance by New York Liberty guard Marquesha Davis and a five-on-five scrimmage between two local youth basketball programs.
USA, New York, Brooklyn Bridge Park basketball courts on Pier 2 with Lower Manhattan skyscraper skyline beyond. (Photo by: Eye Ubiquitous/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
"It is crazy," Taveras said. "You would not have thought something like this would happen for the girls community. But to see the game growing, it just makes everyone happy and want to come out and play."
The WNBA says Line 'Em Up is only getting started, with plans to expand to courts across all five boroughs and beyond.
Communities interested in bringing the orange line to their local park can apply through the WNBA website.